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Paul McCartney
. He was called "the cute Beatle". He was the group's lefty. McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the most successful musician and composer in popular music history, with 60 gold discs and sales of 100 million singles. His song "Yesterday" (credited to Lennon/McCartney, as all songs written by either Lennon or McCartney during their partnership as Beatles were, but composed entirely by McCartney —John Lennon) is listed as the most covered song in history—by over 3,500 artists so far—and has been played more than 7,000,000 times on American television and radio. Wings' 1977 single "Mull of Kintyre" became the first single to sell more than two million copies in the UK, and remains the UK's top selling non-charity single. According to britishhitsongwriters.com he is the most successful songwriter in UK singles chart history, based on weeks that his compositions have spent on the chart. As a performer or songwriter, McCartney was responsible for 32 number one singles on the U.S. Hot 100 chart. Following the death of his first wife Linda in 1998, McCartney married Heather Mills in 2002. They divorced in 2008. McCartney is now partners with Nancy Shevell. McCartney practices meditation, using the mantra that the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi gave him when The Beatles went to a TM seminar in 1967. McCartney is an advocate for animal rights, vegetarianism, and music education; he is active in campaigns against landmines, seal hunting, and Third World debt. McCartney is one of Britain's wealthiest men, with an estimated fortune of £750 million ($1.2 billion) in 2009. Early Days Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942 to parents Mary McCartney and James McCartney. In 1955, when Paul was only fourteen years old, his mother died of breast cancer. After passing his 11-Plus exam in 1957, Paul enrolled in the Liverpool Institute, where he met future band mate, George Harrison. McCartney was heavily influenced by American Rhythm and Blues music. He has stated that Little Richard was his idol when he was in school and that the first song he ever sang in public was "Long Tall Sally," at a Butlins holiday camp talent competition.White, Charles, p.114-115 (2003). The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography. Omnibus Press. Paul was introduced to John Lennon and his band The Quarrymen at the St. Peter's Church Hall fête in Woolton on 6 July 1957. McCartney was very interested in music due to the influence of his father, who was once a jazz musician. Paul joined the band, and he and John began writing songs together. Although John was the leader of the band, Paul was always full of ideas. When bassist, Stuart Sutcliffe quit the band, Paul became the group's permanent bassist. The Quarrymen officially changed their name to The Beatles soon after. The Beatles After former drummer Pete Best was kicked out of the band, Ringo Starr was brought in to replace him. The Beatles soon became extremely popular in Britain and America. Paul wrote many famous songs during this time, including "Yesterday," "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be." When Beatles manager Brian Epstein died of a drug overdose, McCartney urged the band to stay together, while the other three members were ready to quit. It was Paul's idea to make a new film, Magical Mystery Tour. Unfortunately, The Beatles had some creative differences, and Paul announced they had officially broken up on April 10, 1970. The band had been wanting to disband since the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, but McCartney had kept them together. Around the time of the band's breakup, Paul released his first solo album, McCartney. Wings In 1971, McCartney released his second solo album, Ram. The album was credited to both Paul and his wife, Linda McCartney. In August, Paul formed the band Wings. The band consisted of Paul, his wife, guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny Seiwell. They soon released their debut album, Wild Life. Wings went on tour in 1972, and released their second album, Red Rose Speedway, in 1973. That same year, Wings released Band on the Run, their most critically acclaimed album. The album got the band two Grammy Awards. Through 1975 and 1976, Wings embarked on the ambitious Wings Over the World tour, which was released as Wings Over America. The band released music until 1981, when the band disbanded. McCartney said that the band "parted in a friendly way." At somepoint, he and Linda became strict vegetarians and Animal Rights Activists. They were eating lamb meal, and saw a lamb in the field, and that's how the whole vegetarian thing came about. All of Paul and Linda's kids are vegetarians, although Paul's son, James, is technically a vegan (because he doesn't drink milk). Solo Career McCartney's first solo album was developed during the breakup of The Beatles and was released in April 1970 about a month before the released of Let It Be. The album is notable for the fact that McCartney performed all instruments and vocals besides some backing ovals performed by his wife, Linda. The album enjoyed moderate success. The album's most memorable track is "Maybe I'm Amazed". His second solo album, Ram, was released in 1971. Most of the songs were developed after a lengthy vacation in Scotland with Linda. The album has a deliberately ragged in some parts. Criticism's include comments of overly melodic tunes and overly optimistic cheerful sentiments. However, Ram has proven to be a sweet gem of an album which becomes increasingly charming as time passes and the music world evolves. The album also has an abundance of tongue in cheek humor. Take for example the song "Eat at Home" which describes McCartney's romantic wishes. The song "Too Many People" was (wrongly) received as a jab at The Beatles and particularly John Lennon. The song prompted negative remarks from Lennon and it is rumored that Lennon's song " How Do You Sleep" was produced in response to McCartney's comments in music and the press. After former band mate John Lennon was murdered, Paul McCartney and Wings stopped touring, causing the breakup of the band. Soon after, Paul sang, along with Ringo Starr, backup on "All Those Years Ago," George Harrison's tribute to John Lennon. McCartney released McCartney II in 1980 and Tug of War in 1982. The latter reunited him with ex-producer George Martin and Ringo Starr. In 1984, Paul wrote and starred in Give My Regards to Broad Street. The movie did not do well critically or commercially. During the second half of the decade, Paul released five albums, including Flowers in the Dirt and Press to Play. In late 1989, McCartney embarked on his first concert tour since John Lennon's death. Achievements and Reception McCartney is listed in The Guinness Book Of Records as the most successful musician and composer in popular music history, with sales of 100 million singles and 60 gold discs. McCartney has achieved twenty-nine number-one singles in the US, twenty of them with The Beatles, the rest with Wings and as a solo artist. McCartney has been involved in more number-one singles in the United Kingdom than any other artist under a variety of credits, although Elvis Presley has achieved more as a solo artist. McCartney has achieved 24 number-ones in the UK: solo (1), Wings (1), with Stevie Wonder (1), Ferry Aid (1), Band Aid (1), Band Aid 20 (1) and The Beatles (17). McCartney is the only artist to reach the UK number one as a soloist ("Pipes of Peace"), duo ("Ebony and Ivory" with Stevie Wonder), trio ("Mull of Kintyre", Wings), quartet ("She Loves You", The Beatles), quintet ("Get Back", The Beatles with Billy Preston) and as part of a musical ensemble for charity (Ferry Aid). In America, McCartney reached number-one with 29 singles: solo (1), Wings (5), with Stevie Wonder (1), with Michael Jackson (1), with Linda McCartney (1), with the Beatles (20); he was also the composer of "A World Without Love," a #1 single for Peter and Gordon. McCartney's song "Yesterday" is the most covered song in history with more than 3,500 recorded versions and has been played more than 7,000,000 times on American TV and radio, for which McCartney was given an award. After its 1977 release the Wings single "Mull of Kintyre" became the highest-selling record in British chart history, and remained so until 1984. (Three charity singles have since surpassed it in sales; the first to do so, in 1984, was Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?", whose participants included McCartney.) The minor planet 4148, discovered in 1983, was named 'McCartney' in his honour. On 2 July 2005, he was involved with the fastest-released single in history. His performance of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with U2 at Live 8 was released only 45 minutes after it was performed, before the end of the concert.Live 8 (DVD) Various Artists, 7 November 2005, Cat. No: ANGELDVD5 The single reached number six on the Billboard charts, just hours after the single's release, and hit number one on numerous online download charts across the world. McCartney played for the largest stadium audience in history when 184,000 people paid to see him perform at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 21 April 1990. McCartney's scheduled concert in St Petersburg, Russia was his 3,000th concert and took place in front of 60,000 fans in Russia, on 20 June 2004. Over his career, McCartney has played 2,523 gigs with The Beatles, 140 with Wings, and 325 as a solo artist. however, the outlook on the upcoming concert looked dim, after several days of rain. Only his second concert in Russia, with the first just the year before on Moscow's Red Square as the former Communist U.S.S.R. had previously banned music from the Beatles as a "corrupting influence", McCartney hired 3 jets, at a reported cost of $36,000 (€29,800) (£28,000), to spray dry ice in the clouds above Saint Petersburg's Winter Palace Square in a successful attempt to prevent rain. The day McCartney flew into the former Soviet country, he celebrated his 62nd birthday, and after the concert, according to RIA Novosti news agency, he received a phone call from a fan; then-President Vladimir Putin, who telephoned him after the concert to wish him a happy birthday. On 18 June 2006, McCartney celebrated his 64th birthday, the human milestone that was the subject of one of the first songs he ever wrote, at the age of sixteen,Miles (1997) p319 the Beatles song "When I'm Sixty-Four." Discography Studio Albums #McCartney (1970) #Ram (1971) (With Linda McCartney) #Wild Life (1971) (With Wings) #Red Rose Speedway (1972) (With Wings) #Band on the Run (1973) (With Wings) #Venus and Mars (1975) (With Wings) #Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976) (With Wings) #Thrillington (1977) (As Percy "Thrills" Thrillington) #London Town (1978) (With Wings) #Back to the Egg (1979) (With Wings) #McCartney II (1980) #Tug of War (1982) #Pipes of Peace (1983) #Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984) #Press to Play (1986) #Снова в СССР (1988) #Flowers in the Dirt (1989) #Off the Ground (1993) #Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest (1993) (As The Fireman with Youth) #Flaming Pie (1997) #Rushes (As The Fireman with Youth) #Run Devil Run (1999) #Liverpool Sound Collage (2000) #Driving Rain (2001) #Twin Freaks (2005) (With The Freelance Hellraiser) #Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005) #Memory Almost Full (2007) #Electric Arguments (2008) (As The Fireman with Youth) References Category:Beatles Category:People